Latest news with #geoduck
Daily Mail
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Wild video of Washington woman digging for seafood delicacy goes viral
A Washington woman has gone viral after being filmed almost completely submerged underwater while digging for a seafood delicacy. Amber Fauci, an Arizona native, dove head first into the sand during her first ever time hunting for geoduck clams. In a video demonstrating the process, Fauci is seen struggling to pull herself out of the hole in her attempt to catch the saltwater clam. Geoduck clams are the world's largest burrowing clam, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. On average, they reach just over two to two-and-a-half pounds - including the shell, and can live up to 150 years. The woman recording the video, Michelle Weaver, told Fox 13 that it's important to remain still and stay vigilant for water shooting out of the sand. 'So we dug out quite a bit of sand first, and you get to that point where you gotta reach deeper - and I'm short. I am five-foot-one, so I don't have really long arms, so I'm in there, and I saw that opportunity,' Fauci told the outlet. 'Anybody who's gotten their feet stuck [in the sand] knows how far it suctions you down. 'So I'm sitting there trying to pull myself up from the sand, and that's the struggle everybody thought was, "Oh my gosh, she's stuck." I wasn't stuck,' Fauci continued. 'But I knew the tide was coming up, and that's when I decided to come up. It was when the tide hit my nose. I didn't feel like holding my breath, so that was when I started struggling to come up.' Fauci emerged up, sand and water over her hand, before fellow diver, Tyler Weaver, grabbed the geoduck and pulled it from the sand near the end of the video. He said that after digging three to four feet deep, a geoduck diver has to move quickly before it gets away. They used a 'geoduck gun' that has been in Tyler's family for three generations of his family, the outlet reported. Michelle described the device as a 'glorified soup pot that has no bottom, that clearly can fit an entire human in it.' 'That helps from the water - from the tide coming in, or the sand falling in while you're trying to dig, because there's nothing like digging and then a whole pile of sand lands right where you just dug,' she said. Comments on the viral video were stunned by Fauci's dedicated hunting attempt. 'I'm sorry WHAT ma'am did you almost drown for a [geoduck]?' one said. 'Her moving around was scaring me like I was thinking she needed help and I'm like WHY ARE STANDING AROUND LAUGHING AT HER GET HER OUTTT but she good,' another said. One wrote: 'I didn't see the tube at first and thought she was just stuck in the sand and water. Didn't understand why everyone was so chill.' After their hunting efforts proved successful, the group took the geoducks and celebrated with clam and geoduck chowder. Michelle described Fauci as a 'legit badass' for her 'geoduck digging dedication.'
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WATCH: TikTok video of woman digging for geoduck in WA goes viral
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways QUILCENE, Wash. - A woman's deep dedication to digging out a geoduck in Quilcene, Washington is going viral on social media. By the numbers The video, posted by TikTok user @xchellesbellesx on Memorial Day, has racked up more than 100,000 likes on the platform and is giving the social media community a glimpse of the work it takes to dig up one of the Pacific Northwest's unique seafood delicacies. With the tide coming in, and her body submerged in the geoduck gun, many on social media initially thought the woman was in danger. FOX 13 reached out to the people featured in the video to hear their side of the story. Michelle Weaver, the woman who captured the moment on camera, said when hunting geoducks, it's important to stay still and keep an eye out for spurts of water shooting out of the sand. After spotting one, Amber Fauci dove in for the grab – and as soon as she got hold of it, it spurted sandy saltwater straight into her mouth. (@xchellesbellesx via TikTok) What they're saying "So we dug out quite a bit of sand first, and you get to that point where you gotta reach deeper. And I'm short. I am five-foot-one, so I don't have really long arms, so I'm in there, and I saw that opportunity," said Amber. "Anybody who's gotten their feet stuck [in the sand] knows how far it suctions you down." Amber grew up in Arizona, and this was her first time geoducking. She said she's raised three boys, so she's not afraid of getting her hands dirty. "So I'm sitting there trying to pull myself up from the sand, and that's the struggle everybody thought was—'oh my gosh, she's stuck,'" she said. "I wasn't stuck, but I knew the tide was coming up, and that's when I decided to come up. It was when the tide hit my nose. I didn't feel like holding my breath, so that was when I started struggling to come up." Tyler Weaver eventually plucked out the geoduck toward the end of the video, but said Amber had already done 90% of the work by then. The backstory Tyler, who is also a former geoduck diver, said they can dig about three to four feet deep and that you have to move quickly before they get away. He said he used what he called a "geoduck gun" that had been passed down through three generations of his family. Similar devices are used by geoduck and clam fishermen, but Michelle describes this one as more of a 'glorified soup pot that has no bottom, that clearly can fit an entire human in it.' "That helps from the water – from the tide coming in, or the sand falling in while you're trying to dig, because there's nothing like digging and then a whole pile of sand lands right where you just dug," Michelle said jokingly. The group said after their successful dig, they celebrated with some clam and geoduck chowder. Now, they have a viral memory to look back on, one that's still making waves on TikTok as it continues to rack up views and likes. The Source Information in this story comes from an original FOX 13 interview. MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE Wenatchee dad, 3 young girls unreachable, missing person alert activated 'Shut your legs' comment, rating female staff: Snoqualmie Police Chief fired after probe DOJ to announce drug trafficking arrests in Seattle Washington state named 'sanctuary jurisdiction' by Trump admin, 35 of 39 counties listed Motorcyclist speaks out after arrest made in Auburn, WA hit-and-run nearly 2 years ago WA beekeeper working to save millions of bees involved in crash in Whatcom County FBI scrutiny puts pressure on Seattle mayor after protest clash To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.
The Independent
11-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
These American giant ‘geoduck' clams are a Chinese delicacy. Trump's tariff war could stop that
The escalating trade war between the US and China has severely impacted the geoduck industry in Washington state. Pronounced 'gooey-duck,' the world's largest burrowing clam has been harvested in tidelands in the Pacific Northwest since before Europeans arrived. China, the primary consumer of geoduck, imposed retaliatory tariffs, making US geoduck significantly more expensive. This has led to a halt in harvesting, leaving divers unemployed and exporters without business. While the US geoduck industry struggles, Canadian exporters have benefited, becoming the primary suppliers to China due to lower tariffs. The situation remains uncertain, with geoduck farmers and divers anxiously awaiting the outcome of US-China trade talks.
South China Morning Post
11-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Trump trade war gives US producers of a seafood prized in China that sinking feeling
For over two decades, Suquamish tribal member Joshua George has dived into the emerald waters of the Salish Sea looking for an unusually phallic clam that is coveted thousands of kilometres away. Advertisement George is a geoduck diver. Pronounced 'gooey-duck,' the world's largest burrowing clam has been harvested by George's indigenous ancestors in tidelands in the United States' Pacific northwest since before Europeans arrived. It has lately become a delicacy in China, with Washington state sending 90 per cent of its geoducks there, creating a niche yet lucrative American seafood export market. But the escalating trade war between the US and China is now crippling an entire industry that hand-harvests geoducks, leaving divers in Washington state without work, exporters in Seattle, the state's biggest city, without business and Chinese aficionados with fewer of the prized clams. A bag of harvested geoducks on a boat in Washington state. Photo: AP 'It's the first time in 24 years where I don't know when or if we'll be going back to work or if I have to find another job or what we're going to do,' George said. Advertisement US President Donald Trump's tariff-driven economic feud with China, which dates back to his first term in office, swiftly resumed in February within weeks of him taking back the White House.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How a Chinese delicacy got caught in the crossfire of Trump's trade war
SUQUAMISH, Wash. (AP) — For over two decades, Suquamish tribal member Joshua George has dived into the emerald waters of the Salish Sea looking for an unusually phallic clam that's coveted thousands of miles away. George is a geoduck diver. Pronounced 'gooey-duck,' the world's largest burrowing clam has been harvested in tidelands by George's Indigenous ancestors in the Pacific Northwest since before Europeans arrived. In recent years it has also become a delicacy in China, with Washington state sending 90% of its geoducks there, creating a niche yet lucrative American seafood export. But the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China is now crippling an entire industry that hand-harvests geoducks, leaving Washington state divers without work, Seattle exporters without business and Chinese aficionados with fewer of these prized clams. 'It's the first time in 24 years where I don't know when or if we'll be going back to work or if I have to find another job or what we're going to do,' George said. U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff-driven economic feud with China, which dates back to his first term in office, swiftly resumed in February within weeks of taking back the White House. By April, Trump had placed tariffs of at least 145% on China, which led China to retaliate with tariffs of 125% on the U.S. Top U.S. officials are set to meet with a high-level Chinese delegation this weekend in Switzerland in the first major talks between the two nations since the latest tariffs were imposed, but it is unclear where those talks will lead. Enter the geoduck, weighing about 2 pounds and so entrenched in local culture that it is the mascot for Evergreen State College in Olympia. The meaty mollusk is best described as sweet and briny, and it's often sliced raw for crisp sashimi out west while China consumers prefer it chewy in stir-fries or hot pot soups. Pre-tariff costs were as high as $100 per pound in restaurants, so it's a dish generally reserved for special occasions like Chinese New Year, or to celebrate a business gathering. Unlike other products with long-lasting shelf life and standing inventory, the trade war has had an immediate, direct effect on the delicate geoducks, which are shipped alive the same day of harvest. 'The whole market, everybody just had to stop,' said Jim Boure, general manager of Suquamish Seafoods, an enterprise of the Suquamish Tribe. 'We started getting phone calls from buyers saying orders are canceled.' Fewer geoducks are being harvested The millions of pounds of geoducks shipped annually to China come from two main sources: wild harvests on tracts of seafloor that are split between the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Puget Sound Treaty Indian Tribes, and tideland farms. The state's share is auctioned to private exporters that often hire contract divers to harvest them. As of late April, Washington state divers had only pulled about half of the expected harvest from the state tracts, said Blain Reeves, an aquatic resources division manager for the state's Department of Natural Resources. Last year, the state and tribes collectively harvested about 3.4 million pounds of wild Washington geoduck for sale. The state generated $22.4 million in revenue for their half of the clams, which went toward paying for aquatic restoration projects locally. The state doesn't track how much is harvested by private farmers. 'If only half the pounds that were contracted are harvested, then our revenue is halved,' Reeves said. The Suquamish operation has no orders to harvest for at the moment, but it still must keep up with the maintenance to stay ready for business if and when China comes calling. On a recent April day, George's team made a quick trip to collect a handful of the clams for state lab testing. 'When we're doing the job, and it's not all this other political stuff behind the scenes and everything else, we love this,' said George, adding that diving, which takes place early in the day so that the geoducks are on an airplane by evening, has allowed him to watch his kids grow up. Fellow diver Kyle Purser said he cherishes his underwater job, but now fears it's being taken away. "When you're watching your money disappear and you've got families to feed and not knowing when you're going to get your next paycheck, (it's) very stressful,' he said. America's loss is Canada's gain The geoduck import market was already facing weaker demand in recent years due to the Chinese economy's struggle to regain post-pandemic momentum. While the tariffs have only exacerbated troubles for geoduck sellers in Washington, there's also been an unintended consequence: The American trade war has inadvertently boosted the Canadian geoduck business, which is facing a mere 25% tariff from China in comparison to the 125% for the U.S. Washington state in the U.S. and Canada's British Columbia province are the two primary places where the wild geoducks grow naturally for commercial harvest. The two countries did healthy business primarily serving Chinese appetites for decades, in part because quantities are limited. It's a labor-intensive and heavily-regulated harvest, as divers must go several feet below the surface to dig for them. 'They love the fact that it tastes like the sea,' said James Austin, president of Canada's Underwater Harvesters Association. 'It's a product that's really a hit with the Chinese. It's all about the wild coastline. It's really prestigious.' Austin said he expects there will be 2.75 million pounds of Canadian geoducks harvested in 2025, worth approximately $60 million Canadian dollars ($43.4 million USD) in revenue. While demand has been relatively low but still steady for Canadian's geoducks, Austin said they're now the leading exporters for China, which has helped them negotiate higher prices as a result. For example, after Canada got hit with a 25% tariff in March, export sale prices dropped to $12 per pound, and after the U.S. got hit with a 125% tariff in April, Canadian geoducks are now being sold for $17 a pound. 'We have no competitors right now,' Austin said. Yang Bin at Beihai Huaxiashougang Health Industry Company in Beihai city of Guangxi province in China said their seafood wholesale important business no longer gets geoduck from the U.S. 'We don't care about U.S. tariffs because we can get geoduck from other countries with stable prices,' Yang said. Waiting for geoducks On their first week back to work since the tariff fight brought business to a standstill in Washington state, Derrick McRae and his brother pulled up about 800 pounds of wild geoducks in just one April day. He donned a full-body diving outfit with an oxygen line tethered to his boat to dive under the cold waters of an inland sea channel west of Seattle. Kneeled on the seafloor, McRae used a water spray gun to move the sand covering the geoducks. In the cloud of sediment, he felt for the neck with his hand, pulling the clam and stuffing it in a net attached to him. 'We're just kind of waiting on the edge of our seats to see what happens next,' McRae said. At one of the southernmost inlets, farmer Ian Child said the tariff disruption is not just hurting his bottom line but the entire farming process. He usually places young geoducks in the sand in the summer, but he can't mix new crops with any existing unharvested clams. 'I think that the demand is still over there for the product,' he said of China. 'I think they still want it. It's just a matter of where the tariffs will land.' ___ Associated Press researcher Yu Bing contributed from Beijing.
